


A Good Night's Work

by misura



Category: Tales of the High Court - Megan Derr
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Future Fic, M/M, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-24 21:09:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17108177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Allen settles into his new life. (canon divergent AU where Allen marries Rene instead of Sarrica)





	A Good Night's Work

**Author's Note:**

  * For [finkpishnets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/finkpishnets/gifts).



> trace elements of polyamory, but blink at the right moment and you'll miss them completely
> 
> happy Yuletide, finkpishnets!

The moment Allen slipped into the tent, Rene looked up.

"You shouldn't be here."

_Neither should you,_ Allen thought. Rene looked relatively unharmed, which was a relief. Allen didn't know what he would have done if Rene hadn't been able to walk. He didn't think that he would have been able to simply leave, which likely meant he'd have ended up a prisoner, too.

"I know," was what he settled on replying to Rene. It was the truth, after all. Simply because Allen spoke their language like a native, that didn't mean he'd be able to blend in with a group of soldiers without anyone realizing he didn't belong there.

Rene scowled, then sighed. Allen suspected the argument had been postponed rather than cancelled. He cut through Rene's bonds with the knife Jac had given him.

"You got lucky." Rene rubbed his wrists. "I don't suppose you brought me a sword?"

"You suppose correctly." A sword would have drawn attention. Besides, no matter how fantastic a swordsman Rene was, a single sword wasn't going to get them out of here if it came to a fight.

"A scheduled distraction to cover our escape?"

Allen's turn to scowl. He could have arranged it easily enough. It would have made the Dragons part of his plan, rather than condemning them to wait and hope that he'd succeed rather than getting captured. He might not be High Consort, but Allen was still one of Sarrica's closest friends, and High Commander Lesto Arseni's brother-in-law. It meant that when he talked, people listened - but it also meant that if something were to happen to him, very powerful people might get very angry with the group of Dragons who'd neglected to keep him safe.

"Never mind. If our luck holds, we won't need one." Rene smiled and put a hand on Allen's shoulder. "I'm definitely going to do a lot of yelling later, so let me say this right now. Thank you."

"You couldn't keep your thanks and _not_ yell at me?"

"I suppose I could tell Lesto about the whole thing and let him do it." Rene's grin was decidedly evil. "With Sarrica thrown in for good measure. How about that?"

"Remind me why I bothered coming here to save your life again?"

Rene kissed him, quick and hard. Allen felt his body respond, which was rather inconvenient, given that a quick kiss was all they had time for. _Later,_ Allen promised himself, trying to clear his head while Rene slipped outside to check on the position of the guards. _For now, focus on the mission._

"You all right?" Rene sounded worried. "I was only kidding about siccing Lesto on you, you know."

Allen told himself to get a grip. "I'm fine. Let's go."

Rene held the tent flap open for him. Allen thought it was rather a good thing Rene hadn't been recognized; a prisoner as important as the leader of the Three-Headed Dragons would certainly have been far better guarded.

_Of course, if he were to get caught in the company of a silver tongue, someone might put two and two together and realize what they've got._ Allen swallowed. Rene eyed him with a worried expression. Allen forced himself to smile. _I guess we're just going to have to do our best not to get caught._

 

From the way Allen's hands were shaking by the time they made it back to their own camp, you'd have thought that _he'd_ been the one taken captive and Rene the one to rescue him.

Granted, Allen didn't doubt for a moment that Rene would have come for him.

"Here." Rene held out a flask. "This will help."

Allen took a gulp, nearly choking when the liquid burned down his throat. He put the flask down, coughing. "Thanks."

"You're going to be fine," Rene said. "A good night's sleep, then tomorrow, you'll feel as good as new. Better, even, because you'll know that when it counted, you had what it took."

Allen recognized a standard speech when he heard one. "I only snuck in and out of a camp. It's not like I took part in a pitched battle or something like that."

"If I let you do that, Lesto really would have my balls."

Allen took another sip. "Don't worry. I haven't the least desire to become an actual soldier." Rene was a soldier, as was his brother. Allen and Tara represented the more ... diplomatic part of Sarrica's inner circle, the people he relied upon to keep his realm together and at peace.

Rene shrugged, reaching for his flask. Allen handed it over with a sigh. He was still a long way from drunk. Barely even tipsy. "Good. We've got plenty of soldiers already."

"I know. And I know that I should have left it to them to rescue you. But I - " Allen swallowed, trying to find the right words.

"You were worried," Rene said. "You couldn't stop imagining what might be happening to me."

Allen nodded.

"So you came up with a plan to get me out, and it worked. And next time, you might try the same thing and get yourself killed, and then Gaulden representatives will hold Sarrica accountable for your death, and we'll be teetering on the edge of civil war, with Sarrica half-mad with grief over having lost one of his best friends and not a single diplomat at court good enough to contain the situation. Give it a couple of years, and we'll all be dead or wishing we were." Rene sounded very matter-of-fact.

Allen felt like someone had emptied a bucket of ice-cold water over his head.

"Sorry." Rene grimaced. "I promised that I was going to yell."

"I'll consider myself duly yelled at." Allen felt a little sick. He'd known, of course. He'd been raised to fill a far more important position than silver tongue to a group of mercenaries. At one point, he'd thought that he was going to marry Sarrica and rule by his side.

In a manner of speaking, half of that expectation had come true. But while Sarrica was attractive enough to bed, and had grudgingly come around to accepting that he needed a diplomat by his side, Rene had been the one Allen had fallen in love with and eventually married.

"You should get some sleep. We've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow."

"Join me?" Allen asked. He felt he needed the company, to help him forget how much he had put at risk with his selfishness. _If I'd simply done what I was supposed to do, none of this would have happened._

"I hadn't expected a chance to grovel for forgiveness so soon."

Allen breathed in and out again slowly. "It's not. It's a chance to thank me properly for saving your life."

"Ah. Any chance I might persuade you not to share that little detail with Lesto?"

"You can always try," Allen said. "You'll have to be very convincing, though."

Rene smirked. Allen felt calmer, better, in control of the situation again. Possibly, that was just the contents of Rene's flask kicking in, but then again, Allen reminded himself, for all the danger he had put himself in tonight, he'd survived. Better yet, he'd succeeded.

_All I need to do is to keep succeeding._ Easier said than done, perhaps. Still, he was not alone. He had Rene to help him, and Lesto and Sarrica and Tara, and if there was anything or anyone the five of them together couldn't handle, Allen supposed they would simply have to find a way to deal with the problem anyway.

Rene kissed him, slow and sweet, and Allen decided that he'd done more than enough worrying for one day.


End file.
